Tag: family

Do you guys remember that lovely little lady I introduced you to months ago? My smaller, cuter, more genius mini-me–don’t tell her I said that, lol! Jokes. But yes, some of you may have guessed correctly; I am referring to my little sister, Sharani! If you need to refresh your memory, check out this post.

To close out our summer–really, her summer–she joined me in my new video The Sibling Tag . Now to be fair, we do have an older sister and I will be doing a video with her, but she doesn’t live with us and wasn’t around at the time. I was sure to give her a cameo, though 😀

Anyway, if you’d like to see my personality up close and hear some accent slippage, check out the video below! If you like it, be sure to give the video a thumbs up and share it! & if you’re feeling really fancy, subscribe!

I looked up the definition of family and this is what dictionary.com gave me:“anygroupofpersonscloselyrelatedbyblood,asparents,children, uncles,aunts,andcousins.“ For some people, their family dynamics consist of just that and nothing more. They speak to one another due to obligation; they tolerate each other because “blood is thicker than water” –whatever that’s actually supposed to mean. If you ask me, having a great & reliable family is a wonderful thing. And even when you have someone who’s not the best at their role, but they’re putting forth the effort, that’s fine–I would take the attempt over the lack thereof.

Fortunately, I was blessed with an amazing family. My parents are more wonderful than you could imagine, my sisters are my best friends, my brother-in-law is basically the brother that I never had, and my nieces and nephew are God’s most beautiful blessings–come on, you’ve seen them! My extended family, on the other hand, is a bit of a mix. Some of them are cool, some…not so much. But, it’s okay because I don’t depend on them and they’re doing enough for me.To those that do and offer more, thank you!

Rachel is one of those people. She’s my first cousin and one of my mom’s many nieces. She and I weren’t very close when we were younger. In fact, I didn’t like her very much because she would always call my little sister stupid–not sure why, as she’s quite smart–and behaved quite cruel towards us . But in retrospect, the kid was dealing with a lot. Thankfully, we’re closer now. She practically lives at my house on the weekends and sometimes during the week–which is funny because we’re all 20 and over now. She’ll be invited to all of our family functions, even when some other family members aren’t, and she’s sure to be a bridesmaid in my wedding.

I’ve watch her grow over the years, and I love her dearly. I respect the passion she has for her craft and how she attempts to make everyone love music and the clarinet just as much as she does–I could never! But I listen to her because I know that not everyone will, and she definitely deserves it. I think it’s funny when people deem others as weird or strange because they’re interested in things that aren’t mainstream. Whatever, dude! Love what you love, and be who you are. Beethoven was probably pretty strange back in his day, but when people heard his music they could do nothing but pay attention.

You never know when you’re encountering a Beethoven, people, so be sure to pay attention.

Love you, Rae!

A big thanks to Rachel for letting me photograph her! Be sure to follow her on Instagram @rae_harvey!

In honor of Veterans Day, I’d just like to say thank you to all of those that serve on behalf of our country. Sure, everyone may not agree with our reasons to go to war, but they surely wouldn’t object to the daily protection that they receive. Regardless of international affairs and political parties, thank you! I appreciate all that you do for me and my family, for you and your family, and for the families that you may never meet. I pray that you all are safe and protected in the arms of God.

I’d also like to show some appreciation to my dad.

He joined the army at the age of 18, I believe, all because he needed and wanted to provide for his family. It’s funny, because my younger sister and I always tell people that my dad may have very well become one of the greatest basketball players in the world–seriously guys, playing with Jordan himself. But, he and my mom had my oldest sister quite young, so my dad joined the army instead. & no worries, he’s not one of those guys that talks about how he would have been famous all the time, lol. In fact, if it weren’t for the documentation of his high school basketball career and my mom reaffirming that he was indeed quite good, my sisters and I wouldn’t know anything about it.

He joined in 1979 and my older sister was born in 1980; he was officially honorably discharged in 1991 as an E6 Sergeant. He likes to say that: “I went in for your sister and I came out for you.”

(Dad’s second to last on the first row & the close up is below.)

(Can you spot him? He’s the fifth guy from the left on the first row.)

So, thanks dad! I love that you were honorable enough to join the army for mom and Shay, but thanks for coming home for me! 🙂

There is nothing like being a big sister. I’m the middle child, so I was fortunate enough to take on both roles, little and big. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid. Literally. If I don’t go to bat for anyone else, I’d do it for her. One day she came home from work in her new J.Crew work attire, and she looked SO pretty! I was like, “omg, why are you so pretty?” Her outfit was so cute and her transitional style (feel free to ask tutorial questions!) was adorbs; the shoes are Anya Suede Ballet flats–the turquoise shoes are no longer available–and the sweater is the Factory Clare cardigan. I begged her to let me take some photos in our back yard. I’d like to think they came out alright; so, I thought I’d share them, and her, with you. I’m kind of sad that the summer is ending and she has to return to school, but I couldn’t be more proud to say that my sister is a “Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech & A Helluva Engineer!” Glad to call her one of my best friends. Love you Dai!

I know, I know, I said it’d only be 24 hours until I made another post, but I lied. Not on purpose, though. My sister’s family was staying with us, and it’s quite difficult to focus on anything when you have an 8 month old and a 3 and 5-year-old roaming the house. Don’t get me wrong, they’re the best kids in the world, but it’s very hard to leave their cute little faces and dedicate time to work. & even more so when you rarely get to see them.

It’s also been a very busy time and quite a few things have changed. Did you notice that I said my sister’s family was staying with us? Who is this us? My parents, my younger sister and myself. Yup, the rents had all of their children at home this week, and I was one of them. I’m not in graduate school anymore! Dun Dun Dunnnn.

Yes, yes, it is indeed true; my dreams have not died, but my desire to further my education has. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in higher edu. and it can definitely be beneficial; but, I got my BA in 2012 and after taking breaks in between and also being uncertain about what I wanted to do, I realized that maybe it wasn’t for me. There were a few other things that contributed to my decision, but that was one of the major ones. I also realized that I didn’t need the masters to get the job that I wanted. Experience is what made the difference and an MA in English wasn’t giving me that. So anyway, that’s that– for now.

Freshly Made Green Smoothies

Homemade Barbecue and Store Bought Dessert

Midday Breakfast (Oatmeal and fruits) and Editing

My Starbucks Usual These Days

So, what all happened during my hiatus? 1. I moved back home. 2. My older sister’s house flooded and they were staying with us until their floors and walls were finished. 3. My mom had a 50th Birthday Celebration that my sisters and I coordinated. 4. I start working again at Banana Republic, part-time, and I’m searching for a big-girl job with benefits and such. 5. I have every intention to move from this wretched state once again, so I’m looking for cities to embark upon another journey. 7. Random, good fun. 6. Other stuff. So, yup.

Some friends and myself at my mother’s 50th!

All in all, I’m back. Everyone is gone and I have returned to the real world. I will be writing posts regularly again and some will include the events that I mentioned above, e.g. my mom’s party. Again, I hope everyone’s been doing well and I’ll be back with another post soon.

Yesterday, my mom, dad and I dropped my younger sister off at the airport. Her plane departed at 7:30, so we arrived in New Orleans at about 6:00am. Obviously, I was exausted because we had to initially leave my house at 5:00am, so I slept the entire way home. As we pulled up in the driveway I was awakened with these words:

“Wake up C.Lynn, we’re in New York! C.Lynnnn, we’ve arrived in NY!”

I woke up with the biggest smile on my face, laughing at my father. To no surprise, when my eyes opened we were very much so in my parent’s driveway. Yes, dad, our lovely home in the country club is nice, but it’s defnintely no NY.

Thanks for trying, though! 🙂

*Note* The picture featured is actually of me in NYC. I was in Central Park West.

I don’t want to go to sleep, because if I do that means tomorrow is coming. And I thank God for every tomorrow that he’s given me and for every one to come, but I’m really not sure that I’m ready for this tomorrow. I hate to see others suffer, to see them in pain, but it’s even more unbearable when it’s your family.

Momo: I love you and I pray you find peace upon telling your son goodbye.

Papa: I love you and I’ve never seen you cry, but know that no matter what: he knows you loved him.

Mom: I love you and you are the best woman that I know and the most amazing that I will ever meet, but you have to be strong; but in your strength, know that it’s okay to cry.

Dear Aunts: I love you and your brother loved you, so tomorrow share that love in your farewell.

Uncle: I love you and I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye in the way that you wished, but no goodbye would have been easier than another.

Family: I love you.

Uncle Pipe: I love you, and although I can’t recall our memories, I’ll miss you just the same. I’m not particularly looking forward to tomorrow, but I’m thankful for it nonetheless.

The above quote may seem harmless in a sense– seeing as the most offensive word used has become common terminology to many and accepted by most. But, maybe when I explain the way it was used and why it bothered me so much, you’ll choose reevaluate the statement.

I am going to try to make this short and sweet, so here goes:

The other day my sister, younger cousin and I were over at my grandmother’s and as we prepared to leave, my cousin’s nephew– who is 11 months old– rolled around in the kitchen in his bouncy chair. As he bounced around he moved closer to the trash can and, seeing as any and everything attracts the eye of an infant, began to touch it. Well, obviously you don’t want children touching anything containing garbage, so his aunt, my younger cousin, told him to stop. Butwhat she said specifically was: “Stop! Don’t touch that trash can you lil’ nigga,” and began to laugh.

Now, no offense to my cousin, I love her very much, but that was one of the most ridiculous things I’d ever heard in my life. My sister and I could not believe that she just called an 11 month old a “lil nigga.” I mean, who does that? Immediately we began to tell her that she shouldn’t say things like that to him. Statements like those are exactly why my relatives are so screwed up today; it’s why people feel unloved, lost and hopeless. Sure, there’s more that contributed to their current situations, I’m not that naïve, but it would also be very naïve to think that it didn’t start with someone calling someone a little nigger.

Oh, I’m sorry. Did my usage of the word nigger offend you? Is that word not appropriate? I do apologize, but I should remind you that nigger and nigga are the same word, one of them is just slang. Now, let me quickly make my point before I get lost in the debate of word reappropriation.

Following that incident, there was another discussion about the situation and, again, I heard another outrageous comment –my cousin mentioned it, the person didn’t actually say it in my presence. Obviously I have a lot of respect for this person, but what he said has to be one of the most idiotic statements ever. It was something like: I am going to call my sons niggas to prepare them for what’s coming– that’s an obvious misquote, but you get the point. My response: no. no, no, no, no, NO. Firstly, it’s very presumptuous to assume that someone in his lifetime will use the term in a derogatory way, which I’m going to assume is coming from someone of another race, maybe? And that’s the reason for the tough love deal. Secondly, it’s important to note that if/when he does get called a nigga, it will more that likely be by someone of his own race. So, yeah. You’re preparing him for what, the names that we call ourselves?

Here’s the deal: I am not a nigga. I am not a nigger. I am an African-American female. Bam, boom, done, end of story. Nigger was and still is a derogatory term. B*tch was and still is a derogatory term. If you wouldn’t say to your daughter, “don’t touch that trash can you lil’ b*tch” then you shouldn’t say things of equal value to your son. If any woman gets called a c**t and her solution is to take ownership of the word and start calling all women c**ts, then lord do help us all. Heck, we’ve basically already done that with the B word; women answer to it, they call themselves Bs and hoes, and there are songs dedicated to such. That’s stupid. Sorry, not sorry.

If you haven’t read the “Willie Lynch Letter” then maybe you should. Regardless of if it’s fabricated or not– you never know these days– its context remains true: “Keep the body take the mind…Pay little attention to the generation of original breaking, but concentrate on future generations” (Finalcall.com News), and that is exactly what has been done. Someone, somewhere along the lines of history made people think it was okay to use the very terms that were meant to degrade them. Sure, some people use the term nigga to mean “homie” but when they’re upset, guess what? They use it in its original demeaning form. E.g.

“whaddup up my nigga?” aka “what’s up homie?”

or

“you aint nothing but a nigga, just like every other nigga!” aka “you are an ignorant, incompetent human being and I can’t stand you!”

That doesn’t look like much reappropriation to me.

In my opinion, some terms are not meant to be reclaimed, they’re meant to die. Most of us are guilty of using it at some point, myself included, but maybe we’d like to stop. And even more so, maybe we’d like to not impress such terms and ideologies on the young minds of our children. Just a thought.

*disclaimer* I am not implying that rap music makes people use the N word, or is in any way responsible for other behavior; but as with any and everything else, I’m sure it’s a contributor. I just like the pic and it makes a point. Thanks.